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Tallyn Edition: Chapter 2
Summary A paid contract with a notorious Orange Guild makes Tallyn question whether loyalty to his hirers is worth the consequence that might befall the victim of the information he is sent to collect. Titan's Chore Aincrad 35th Floor, February 22nd, 2024, 18:13 I was still licking my wounds after the 50th Floor fiasco. I'm putting the term lightly, but I'll tell you a little later. But overall, I was beginning to adjust to life here a little bit more. I was still edging away from people, but I actually was building up a small list of people, who weren't all clients. Still, that didn't stop me from deleting them from my friends list if they did something stupid that would get them killed. I was not going to be the one to find out one day by flicking through that list and finding them not there. That's my decision, not theirs. There was no point with whoever it was sneaking up on me. "My searching skill is high. Just come out." Why should they bother wasting their time when I knew they were there. Just because I happen to work in the corners of buildings, in dark alleyways, and/or in wherever wasn't 'in sight' places, doesn't mean that anyone could just sneak up on me. Not that they could to begin with. "Well now, aren't you the dark and ominous type." It was a female voice, but much older than most of the female players, mid to late twenties was my best guess, but age was never my strongest suit. I still kick myself over a few incidents I would care not to mention. "The shadows really do suit you." I still couldn't see her face, but her hair was red with a small ponytail almost draped to her right shoulder. If I had a toothpick, this would have been the perfect opportunity to flick it from my finger. "You here with a job?" Apparently, that is a line that gets a positive response. "Oh, straight to the point. I like that in a player. A lot of players I meet are either spineless or perverted. But you have surprised me." Is she flirting with me? Man, that bugs me. Chill I told myself. Just play with it. Playing into the role was what I did to maintain the necessary distance I wanted to keep from people, but it was almost second nature now. I was Tallyn, and this was how he acted, not that his thoughts ever matched up though. I smirked and crossed my arms, maintaining limited eye contact. "I suppose. What's the job?" She was now rolling her hair with her fingers. "Hmm, a curious one aren't you. I have no doubt, given your reputation that this will be merely a breeze. I want you to spy on an old friend of mine." "Doesn't sound like you trust your friend if you asking me to spy on them." She started swaying her hips as she drew in closer. She'd been doing this for a long time, I could tell. Then again, there were few female players that were real females in this game to begin with, it made sense in some weird way for her to act like this. "Oh come now, it's not that I don't trust her. It's the new company she has." I raised my hand and placed it behind my head. "Is he some sort of dark suited character?" I could see her raise an eyebrow. "I never specifically said it was a he, but well done, and yes in fact he's so obviously dark suited he wears all black. Not the kind of person I want to see my poor, little Silica fall into such a bad crowd." A bad guy in black. Well that narrows it down. sarcasm aside, black was a favourite colour of very shady looking people. Despite being the colour of life in this country, a lot of the people wearing black liked to cause harm and even death upon mobs and players alike. "If he's that bad, why not hire an assassination on this guy?" I thought it was a good question. I could, but that was <> than tracking was cost. "Murder, no I could never bring myself to the knowledge of asking for someone's death." I screwed my mouth slightly. If I wasn't still hiding, she would have seen it. "I see." Something about it wasn't feeling right. The tone was off, like it was forced or just unnatural "How much are you willing to pay?" "Oh, but I thought it was for you to decide the price of the task." "As it is for a friend's sake. I am making an exception." "You do make this little task all the more interesting. How about a kiss when you get back, handsome?" Definitely flirting, no doubt. If I was still me, this would have caused me to cave in. But I wasn't Satoru, I was Tallyn, and he was more confident when it came to talking to people. I pulled my left cheek up, grinning through my exposed teeth. "As tempting as it sounds. It's Cor I need. My usual price is 1,000, but how much are you willing to pay?" That was a lie, I usually asked for more, but this was an easy job, and since she seemed to 'worried' about this person, I wouldn't need to collect any sort of equipment. I learnt that a lot of players were scared and would stay in towns, so no PKing or monster fights. She was intrigued to say the least. I knew she would have interest of even playing half that. But I had been in a good mood lately, and I was being nice as a favour to a friend. "Hmm, you do charge high. No wonder your so highly recommended. Well, since you are being so generous, I guess I could go as high as 400, if that's not a problem. I kicked myself from my leaning position. I pulled up my hood and walked out of the shadow. "It's not." Aincrad 35th Floor, February 22nd, 2024, 21:19 Tracking down Rosalia's friend was an easy enough task. Since she was pretty popular, should I say, around a lot of players around here, it was easy to follow the trail of breadcrumbs her presence had impacted on them. I tracked them down to the 'Jolly Sleigh' Inn, a tribute in name no doubt to the Christmas event boss a couple of months ago. A small price for a room I would not be using was enough to get me to the rooms above. Something still bugged me about all this though. I couldn't shake the feeling that what I was doing- never mind. I don't need this. I have a job. I did all the niceties, I just need to stay focused. Why am I bothered so much? "Silica, you still awake?" Silica? That's the name I was waiting for, so they guy was the shady bloke. I couldn't see him, but I could barely hear him. Above me. I was waiting halfway between the upper floors and the lower, just waiting for something to come up. Now I had it. "Ki-Kirito?" That must be her voi- . . . Wait? Kirito? I'm spying on the Black Swordsman. Th-this can't be right. A shady character, yes, but I know he's not a bad guy. Was she wrong, or am I wrong now. I hadn't seen him since December, the last boss battle I would ever take part in. That six-armed Buddha statue on the 50th nearly killed us worse than the two-headed Giant on the 25th. Once the battle was over, more than half of the clearing team was dead. He saved us that day. He nearly died, but he got the final strike in. That sword he obtained. The Elucidator. He was able to equip it immediately, but the name itself was well known. The best sword anyone could obtain from a monster drop. He earned it. But is he the same guy still. He practically suicide the boss, like he didn't care if he was to die. Was he broken? Is he still broken inside? "I forgot to tell you some stuff about Floor 47. But it can wait till tomorrow." "No, now's fine! Actually, I was just thinking I should ask you about..." I made my move. It was a few floor up to where I was waiting, but I could get there quick. Thanks to a combination of sprinting and acrobatics skill slots, jumping floors was an easy task for me. "That was so close..." This floor, her voice was closer here. I held to the ledge. I could see him. Kirito was outside a door. I saw him entering and close the door behind him. I made my move and crept closer. "Uh, what's up? Something wrong?" He must have gone bad if I was spying on him. But is that really him. Shut up! I told myself. Focus. This has never happened to me before. Why now? "No, nothing." She answered quickly, like the question would have revealed something mebarassing. "What's that thing do, Kirito?" Yep, it was definitely Kirito. It sounded like he pulled something out. He had pulled out a chair and was presumably sitting on it. "It's a Mirage Sphere." "It's pretty." Pretty is cutting it short. They are very handy tools. Absolutely replacing the need for the menu's map when you can have your own 3D hologram in your room. I was breathing too loud. I covered my mouth. Am I trying to get caught? I need to relax. I could crack my fingers. There not too loud- No, he'll hear me. I shouldn't. Why is this bothering me? "This is the town area of Floor 47. And that's the Hill of Memories. I was thinking if we take this route, we can..." *snap* "Hm?" This is too agitating. I'm losing my cool. It's throwing me off. *snap* "What's wrong?" Oh, no. I need to stop. I needed to relax here. If I made a noise I- *snap* "Shh!" Fuck. He heard me. I jumped and darted to the stairs. I heard the door crash open, I panicked and jumped over the bannister, avoiding the steps. "Who's there?!" I landed and dashed below the corridor. I guess I would be needing that room after all. I shut the door. I needed sometime to think about this. 47th Floor. Hill of Memories. Kirito. I unequipped everything and headed for the shower. I'm surprised I was willing to pay for a room that was equipped with a shower. I needed to cool off. Get my head back in the game. I was paid for this. I was getting my pay for just spying on them. Why should I worry? It's nothing. I tell her and whoever she's with. This isn't a game I should be playing around with, this a reality for us. I need to treat it like reality. 47th Floor. Hill of Memories. Kirito. This was a weird reality though. The shower was hot as soon as I pressed it on. This world is different in so many ways. The people are different as well. They change, or they don't fit your stereotypes as easily as you would think. They must know who he is though. They? Why am I thinking they now? It's just her. No one else. As if she could do anything. Would she do anything though? 47th Floor. Hill of Memories. Kirito. I stepped out and headed for the sink. I needed cold water now, just for my face. Clear head. Clear head. I need it. *snap* Crap! Got to stop doing that. Stop shaking! No, she's a green cursor, I saw it. She wouldn't try to kill him just because he was hanging around a friend. Why though? Why would she hire me, if all she wanted was to know who she was with. In a town she could have done it herself. 47th Floor. Hill of Memories. Kirito. I'm in over my head. I need to sleep this off. A few hours, or less than that. I just need to think clearly. I laid out on my bed. It's surprisingly comfortable. I've been surprised by a lot of things. Which is real? Who is real? Who? Am I? 47th Floor. Hill of Memories. . . Kirito. Aincrad 35th Floor, February 23rd, 2024, 03:49 Three hours ago, I delivered my report. The sight of it all killed me to the core. I felt my entire personality split in two. I had tied to bear this game for so long alone. I tried to continue playing, despite it being very much real. I couldn't keep this up, when I could be responsible for something like this. I was right, when I had that horrid feeling rushing through me. Every word I delivered, I could see those smiles burning into my skin. I saw them, the orange cursors. They were with her. She didn't hide them. They were reinsurance that I wouldn't try and double cross her. I told them what they wanted. Not everything, thank God, but too much. Too much was said and handed over. My guilt consumed me. I walked back into town, but I found myself back in the inn. My room was empty, but I wasn't sleeping. I needed to tell him. I needed to confess to him. I owed him. He had the right to know. Tallyn wouldn't do something like this behind his clients back, it would be bad on his reputation. I can't be Tallyn right now. Satoru wouldn't do this, even if it meant his life was in jeopardy. I need to stop playing this game, this is real and things have consequences. "You can't kill me in a safe zone." He heard me coming. I made it more obvious. I deliberately avoided sneaking. I even cracked a few more fingers so he knew it was me waiting outside. I stayed standing there. Back against the window that lit up the staircase. I kept myself hidden, but not out of sight. "I know that. It's been over a year, you'd have to be dumber than a pebble to not know that." I wasn't being rude, but my tone was definitely sharp, like I was retaliating. He sighed and just leaned against the doorway. He knew I couldn't take him in a fight, even if the safe zone allowed it. "What do you want." It was clear he knew who I was. He'd probably already knew it was med the moment he kicked the door down this evening. I had to swallow what pride I had. This was serious. "I'm double crossing a client to tell you this." "Should I feel honoured?" "I told the truth" I snapped immediately. He was acting rude, but who could blame him. He probably knew what I was like, probably thought worse of me for what I did and what I had been doing this whole time. "I have never done this to a client in my time here. I'm nothing if not loyal, but I had a strange vive from this job, and I have never once questioned my work." I gulped. "I respect you too much Kirito." The response took him a back. "How do you know me?" I kept my eyes away. AND THIS IS ABSOLUTLY NOT A GAY THING! I was still too ashamed. the memory of the orange guild still burned. "How could I not. Most players in the game hate you. But none of them ever see how far you risk your life. I would have died with everyone on the 50th Floor raid if it wasn't for you. You also took the heat of beta testers." He crossed his arms and looked away. "I never did any of this to be liked." "And now, from what I have gathered. You're helping this girl, Silica, to revive her pet. It may be an AI, but I have heard about how much distress she is in over it. You weren't the shady kind of guy I was hired to eavesdrop on. "Look, Tallyn-" "I'm not Tallyn!" A stupid response, but it was the truth of sorts. I wasn't a character in a virtual game. For the first time in a year, I was me, the real me. I'd always looked like me, but Satoru couldn't do half the things Tallyn was able to do in this game. The higher my levels climbed, the less I felt like myself. "Not at the moment. Please, just don't use my name." He looked at me in shock, but he quickly turned away his expression and cut back to the matter. "What did your client look like?" "Female, fairly tall. Twenties, leather strapped clothing. Spear weilder. Red hair, draped into a small pony tail on her right shoulder." His eyes glared and shrank as his lids tightened. "Rosalia." "Know her?" He huffed, rubbing his neck. I felt a little nervous as his hand nudged the hilt of his sheathed sword on his right shoulder. "Met her at roughly five, half five yesterday." I sighed, realizing as the puzzle started sliding together. "An hour before she came to me." She obviously saw the guy, but wanted to know who he was. She planned to kill him if she thought he was weak enough. "What did you tell her?" he asked. I clenched my eyes shut. I couldn't bear looking at him, feeling so ashamed. I felt like every answer I was giving him was cutting my <> into shreds. "What she wanted; where you were going, what time, and which route you would take." I finally looked at him in the eyes. "B-But, she doesn't know who you are, or that you're a clearer. Nor your level for that matter. But that's everything." He stared in silence for a while. I was sure that he was going to attack me. His rage filled frenzies were well memorized from seeing him fling himself into boss fight after boss fight. But he didn't. "Thank you?" It didn't make me feel any easier, but he seemed more relax now. "But why do all this? You could risk your business and your reputation as a mercenary." I turned "I was never in it for the Cor. I needed it for my mission, and info brokers aren't cheap." He rolled his eyes. Obviously he was aware of the same info broker I was referring to. "Tell me about it." "I did this because the whole time I was listening, I realized that I felt more shady about Rosalia than you. The job was . . . making me question the job itself. *sigh* What does it matter. If you go on with this, and you get ambushed because of my information, you could still get away." "They don't know who I really am though. So I have the advantage if that happens. Besides, I have my own bone to pick with her." Huh? What did he just say? "Why?" I stopped, I cut myself off. It wasn't my place, after what I did. I don't deserve to know. "Never mind, I need to go." I started to turn, but then I started running as well. "You're a good guy." I stopped. A good guy? He called me a good guy. Is he right to say that? Do I deserve this? No. No I don't. A good deed doesn't erase the bad. I should remember that. It's too true in this situation. I lowered my face, and I flicked my hood up over my head. Satoru could no longer be here, in this world. Tallyn was needed. If he had stayed, this world would kill him. "No I'm not." I jumped the bannister and fell to the bottom floor, and left the inn that night, for good. Aincrad 50th Floor, February 24th, 2024, 13:34 I was back in my corner of the world. Hiding in the shadows, away from prying eyes. Tallyn was back on the job and awaiting service. Since the 50th was one of the largest floors and a symbol that marked the halfway point in the game, a lot of people had begun to make permanent residences here from the lower floors. All the more reason for me to be here, especially on a busy day like this. I could hear footsteps approaching. I took a 50/50 gamble that this person was looking for me to hire, since that's what I usually put up around the towns that I occupy each day and let the word spread. It was midday too, so there was a smaller chance a player just wandered this way by accident. I knocked the wall a few times to signal that I was there. "What can I-" I stopped when I was cut off by my visitor. "How about a quick chat." I stopped in my tracks. "For a friend." That voice. I turned my head, and there stood Kirito. I was more shocked than anything. I hadn't expected he's find me here. Come to think of it: "How'd you find me?" "I asked people. They said you were here today." Well, at least my system worked out, I guess. But this was really a big surprise for me. He really didn't act like he was the type of person who would have forgiven me so easily. But did he forgive me, or was this just a routine job for him. "I . . . was meeting someone." Damn, what a lame excuse. Well there's no way to pull myself out of this, might as well dig the hole deeper at this point. "But I also have a job to maintain an upkeep." He knows that. I could dig a hole to the 1st Floor. Wouldn't that be an achievement. "I'm not doing boss rooms again." Crap. Shut Up! Shut Up! While I was shouting to myself, Kirito was staring at me like I was going insane, which was probably an accurate depiction of myself. "I just wanted to say thanks." Huh? "What you did was noble." Noble? No, it wasn't. I-I "Why are you telling me this?" "Because you made me realize more than ever, I'm not the bad guy here. Neither are you." That really struck me, but I couldn't accept this. If I didn't accept the job, then it wouldn't of happened. I'm guilty and I can't change that. "I might as well be." "If you were the bad guy, you wouldn't have told me. I would have been ambushed and not known. I couldn't of avenged the Silver Flags by putting Titan's Hand in prison, without your conscience." Titan's Hand, I heard about them, so . . . Oh crap! Rosalia and the orange players. I'm such an idiot. "I just wouldn't have slept well, knowing what I did. All this has made me realize that this life is real as well, and-." I found myself cut off. I found that I couldn't speak another word, when my thoughts went back to . . . her. Fuck, I'm going to blush again aren't I. "You and me both." he chuckled. "I have tried to pretend that this was still a game that I could overcome, but it hasn't let me forget that this is not the same game from the beta. People I have grown close to have died, but I found myself empty by avoiding people who needed me." "If you find something special in this world. Something that makes living here that much bearable, catch it when you get the chance, and don't ever let go of it, no matter what happens." "Yeah. Same goes for you." I slumped back to the wall. "That's going to be difficult, playing solo and all." He then shot me a look in his eyes with sheer determination, and a small grin on his face. "But I'll try, and so should you." I smiled back at him, for real, for the first time in what was almost forever, I could really smile. "Yes." Category:AdamantiumBladez Category:Chapter